Court Ruling Isn't Leading to More Wine Sales

U-S Supreme Court ruling hasn't led to surge in wine sales as some expected.

Five months after the U-S Supreme Court ruled that it was unconstitutional to ban interstate shipments of wine, small and medium sized family wineries in the region say they're not seeing the increase in sales that was anticipated.

Some analysts say it's going to take some time for customers to realize direct shipments are now available.

Jeremy Benson, an advocate of direct shipping, says he expects sales to escalate as visitors are informed in tasting rooms that they could have a couple of cases shipped to their home.

"They visit wineries that they haven't tried before with wines that may not be available in their market and that gives them an opportunity through these laws to be able to receive those shipments legally."

Some vintners in the Valley say they're disappointed that they haven't received more orders via the Internet, but they're hopeful the favorable publicity about this year's harvest will generate interest in lucrative markets such as New York.